Airlines' treatment of passengers slowly improves

Air travelers who have endured lost bags, delayed flights, lousy service and getting bumped from full planes might want to scream at the entire airline industry. But flying actually is getting better, when measured by these benchmarks, say private researchers who have analyzed federal data on airline performance.

“Airlines are finally catching up with what their promise is, which is getting you there on time 80 percent of the time with your bags.”

Dean Headley, a business professor

AirTran had the best baggage handling rate, 1.63 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers. American Eagle had the worst baggage handling rate, 7.32 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers. That was more than double the industry rate of 3.35.

Southwest Airlines once again had the lowest consumer complaint rate, 0.32 complaints per 100,000 passengers; United Airlines had the highest consumer complaint rate at 2.21.

Headley attributed United's high complaint rate to rough patches in the airline's merger with Continental. The airlines, which merged their reservation operations in March, now operate under the United name.

The overall rate of customer complaints was virtually unchanged, 1.19 in 2011 compared to 1.22 in 2010. Only five of 15 airlines improved their customer complaint rates for 2011 — AirTran, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian and JetBlue.

The ratings are based on data submitted to the Transportation Department by the 15 airlines who carried the most passengers domestically last year — AirTran, Alaska, American, American Eagle, Atlantic Southeast, Continental, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Mesa, SkyWest, Southwest, United and US Airways. Headley and Purdue University aviation technology professor Brent Bowen, co-writer of the report, are scheduled to release an overall ranking of performance on Monday. Their research is sponsored by Purdue, in Indiana, and Wichita State.

Popular Comments

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